Interested in getting an air system (or whatever it would be) that would allow me to raise and lower the suspension on the fly.

With the clearance issues on my wife's xB it would be ideal to be able to raise it up when she's entering/exiting her parking lot at work and then lower it other times, etc.

At first I figured this wouldn't be an option becuase she wouldn't let me put the kind of $$ into the car it would take but she actually liked the idea and looks at it as an investment in the car and making it last.

So...what EXACTLY would it all require and what kind of money about am I looking at including install...

Thanks in advance.

 

I had someone put mine on for 2500 kit and install, different prices all over the place just depends on what parts you use and if you put it on or have someone put it on.

 

I'm interested in the price of the stuff, minus install our roads suck so bad thats the only way I could lower my car

 

I got the easystreet/airlift company kit and it is great. here is the link, my cost on the kit was cheaper because the guy that put it on has done so much business with them that they give him discounts.

http://www.easystreetair.com/index.a...S&Category=118

 

You can piece a kit with different parts and make it way cheaper. but i just let the guy do what he thought was best and haven't had any problems with it.

 

wow 2500 thats a pretty good deal. mine was about that much too, my friends and me did the install so i saved a bunch of money.

 

oh yeah, some advice. if you dont install it yourself, then at least try to pay attention, or ask questions on how it all works. it will help a lot if you ever have a leak, you'll be able to narrow down your search by knowing how the system works.

 

What it costs depends on what you want from it. Basic air system with bags, struts, compressor, gauges, switches and all piping and wiring will set you back about $1500+ and then add install. If you want computer control with level sensing...very close resetting of the height at which the car is aligned is inportant to tire wear...will set you back another $800-1200 and complicate the install (you will need to make brackets and set up the leveling sensors but you wont have to run a bunch of air hoses in to gauges just a single wire to the computer control)...you can use a measuring tape every time but that is kind of a pain in the **** (measuring every time you change it or start out), or you could blow that off and just wear out tires and deal with inconsistant handling. There are pressure based leveling systems...and I am sure as soon as I post this someone will pipe up and say all you have to do is set the pressures the same each time...but that is BS.. Pressures vary greatly with air temperature so an airbag with 60 PSI now yielding a wheel opening height of 25" doesn't necessarily yield 25" later at 40 PSI at a different temperature nor will it yield 25" necessarily when you pump it back to 60 psi due to differences in air density. My front strut pressures range from about 70 psi to 115 psi to yield the same ride height. I have mechanical level sensing with computer control and find it very accurate and easy to use. Dakota digital and Air Ride Technology both sell such leveling systems (in fact they use the same sensors it seems as well as basically the same abilities) Dakota control setup is cheaper. I have Air-ride's setup but I would likely have bought dakota digital if I had known about it when I bought. I really like the setup the ride is good (not quite as good as the goldlines it replaced, but close...a bit firmer), the adjustability is awesome. my box goes almost to the ground (required minor fender and front bumper mods).



Beware tho the highest position of the airlift front struts is about like a 1 inch drop so if you need to be all the way back to stock height it wont get you there...altho you could lower the rear some and raise the front all the way to get extra front lip clearance most likely (most rear lips have more clearance and a shorter overhang so dropping the rear a bit with the front up significantly raises the front lip clearance).

 

what lip kit you got on that ride Ted, sorry to get off subject. Ted is right about the ride heght stuff though it is hard to get it exactly the same every time.

 

pm me if you want so we arent jackin the post.

 

Actually that question is relevant to this post.. I should have mentioned the Extreme Dimensions F-1 kit I have sits almost 1 inch lower than stock (it is taller). So the height of you lip kit if any is also relevant to the clearances you will see.

The leveling sensor system on my xB returns the car to within 1/4 inch at all 4 corners every time, plenty accurate. In fact this type system compensates for additional load in the car as well and in theory should maintain the car closer to adjusted alignment parameters than a car on springs would be with varied loads

 

well see thats the thing I'm going to have to be stock ride hieght to drive the crappy roads in arkansas, to give you an idea of how bad the roads are, my road, to the main highway there is a 6 and a half foot difference in hieght so I have to go up 6 feet, then theres a 2 inch lip and a 4 inch lip before you hit the pavement, well that ramp is 6' tall and 3' long, so we are talking very steep, hence why I'll need to keep stock hight maybe even go a bit higher with the bags filled

 

The airlift front struts won't take you all the way to stock. Close but not quite. If you needed to operate at stockish heights all the time these struts would be a poor choice as in order to attain max height they are at max pressure and are undrivably stiff at this setting (maxed out tall). This full up setting is only good for slowly going up a gutter or over a speed bump but not for any at speed driving (well maybe if you have a good dentist to fix your broken teeth).

 

in other words I'm screwed

 

These airlift struts ride best at about a 2 " drop from stock (maybe lower but I am not that brave). Perhaps a spacer could be made to between the top of the strut and the body (would be similar to a wheel spacer) to get more height. Or perhaps the lower mounting could be modified for the same purpose. So you may not be totally screwed but it will take some fabrication to get what you seek...and of course if you raise it these ways you won't get as low on the low side either.

 

well once I'm above the lip I think I can settle with a 2 inch drop for the rest of the ride but I need to be stock hight (atleast for the next 100 years as long as its taking them to get the frigging roads finished)

 

Ya, I realize that most of these air kits are still lower than stock...

So let me ask you this...right now I have Tanabe DF210s on, which are considerably lower than stock. Probably more like 2in drop or so. It's very low compared to stock.

Would this kit allow it to go higher than it sits now, even if it's not quite as high as stock? Basically, if I could go up another .5in or so that would probably give her a lot more clearance so it doesn't scrape.

I'm guessing that another .5 in lift or .75in lift would do the job considering how low the Tanabes have it sitting right now.

Or am I looking at this wrong. Would it be better to get the air kit and replace the Tanabe's with a set of factory springs or something like that?

 

While I agree with most of what Ted said, I don't agree with how sever he makes the alignement issue sound. I have been in and around the air suspension business for about 10 years. You DO NOT have to have a mechanical height sensor type of auto leveling system to return to your aligned height. Especially not on the xB. You can do nearly as well with a pressure based system, and even that isn't necessary. For most people a good set of gauges and a working knowledge of how your suspension works is good enough. I've even known guys who didn't even ned gauges to "feel" when their vehicles were aligned.

Yes, the height sensors make things a whole lot easier. But they aren't necessary. Especially if you are on a tight budget. Which most of the xB owners in this forum are.

For the most part I recommend the Easystreet front struts. I also recommend purchasing them from the Gauge Store. (Lowest prices with the discount code, and great customer service.) As Ted said, they will lift you higher than a set of DF210s. And with air in the rear, you can drop the rear for even more clearance up front, and steeper approach angles.

If you need to get higher than stock, I would recommend the Universal Air kit. And You would probably install it without any trimming (or very little trimming) to the brackets they ship. You may want to find a shop, or a friend who is familiar with metal fabrication and welding to help if you go this route.

In the rear, I would go with the Easystreet kit as well. Of the three major options out there (Easystreet, FBI, Universal) I think Easystreet has the best design. Others may disagree, and that is fine.

For air management I think you are better off pieceing together your own kit. Most of the "pre-packaged" air management stuff either cuts corners, or doesn't have everything you will need. Suicide Doors is a good place to get your air management parts. And if you aren't sure what fittings you need to buy, Innovative Air Suspension has pre-packaged fitting kits at a pretty reasonable price. And if you aren't sure what you need, give Larry a call. He can piece together a custom fitting kit, just for you.

If you have any other specific questions, ask away.

 

I don't need to go higher than stock...just higher than it sits with the DF210s...Stock was just fine, and I'm guessing a little lower than stock would work too.

The DF's just have such a loooooooooow drop that it bottoms out sometimes...so looking for something that will let me raise it up for clearance, but still drop for the look when clearance isn't an issue.

 

Yup the airlift front air struts will take you about 1 " roughly higher that your current springs at max height.

I didn't mean to say that alignment issues are severe (unless you are all the way up or all the way down of course and aligned for the middle). Just that accurate alignment is virtually impossible without measuring or a sensor setup. Indeed a car on springs aligned with a 1/2 tank of gas and no driver will likely never be in perfect alignment in operation as there will be a driver in it and not often exactly the same amount of gas. Given how little our cars change even dropping 2 inches from stock you can get away with alot. It it just really really nice to be right on a good alignment all the time. The level sensor system if used and accurate will , in theory, keep you at your aligned height better than springs since the system comepnsates for load changes where springs do not. As long as whatever you use to control your height can consistantly put it within 1/2 an inch or so of the aligned height, alignment issues will be small and likely not significant. The problem comes when guys just jump in pick a height and go and don't consider what the vehicle height does to them. They may not even have the car aligned at all (ref a post on another forum where the guy killed his tires in no time). A proper accurate alignment at the height that the car will be driven most of the time is key. Pressure based systems with a bit of measuring at first to see what differences you see in height vs pressures at different temperatures will I am sure be fine if used properly to get the car close to it's aligned height when driven. The level sensing system is simply the ultimate (that I am aware of) to ensure precise control of ride height with minimum guesswork and hassle (but indeed there is a price in $$ for the convienience).